Leave it to Will Wright to make a video game out of real life. The father of everything Sim debuted his new vision to Venture Beat recently, one that takes customization beyond anything seen before. Hivemind is the first step in “personal gaming”, as Wright describes it, and incorporates elements of the player’s actual life into the gameplay process of collecting in-game “dimensions”.
“Rather than craft a game like FarmVille for players to learn and play, we learn about you and your routines and incorporate that into a form of gameplay,” Wright said.
Routines like your and your friend’s locations, and the amount of money currently in your wallet. Wright says the benefits of Hivemind’s gameplay will be such that players will gladly give up that information. Wright’s newest business venture is still in the planning phases, but he has revealed the three founders of the initiative: himself, financial expert Jawad Ansari, and business expert Raj Parekh. The ulimate goal of Hivemind – according to Wright – is to engage players more in reality, rather than distance them from it.
“It blurs entertainment, lifestyle, and personal tools,” Wright said. “With that data, the world and the opportunities for entertainment within it become more visible to you. If we can learn enough about the player, we can create games about their real life. How do we get you more engaged in reality rather than distract you from it?…This has to do with where gaming is going…We had our eras in console gaming and social gaming. A lot of this personal gaming will happen on mobile devices. The question here is how can we learn enough about the player to create games about his or her real life.”
What’s your view of Wright’s Hivemind, EGs? How do you see Wright’s goal of “real life through gamification” manifesting? Give us your thoughts in the comments section!